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“Continuing to partner with Big League Dreams is a risk with little reward,” said Mayor Jenn Daniels in a statement posted online. “This facility needs a different team; an operator with common sense, motivation, and integrity.”

“We want to know from the community what is their commute like? What are some of the trouble areas for them?” Valley Metro spokeswoman Corinne Holliday said. “Where do they see some of the most congestion? Where are they traveling and what kind of improvements do they want to see?”

For the first time, Phoenix has a citywide service plan — a strategy to engage volunteers in specific areas and measure the impact. Last year, Phoenix received a $100,000 grant to put the plan into action.

It may be difficult to believe, but there was a time before instant messaging. And, then America Online started allowing all of us to communicate with people next to us without even having to talk to them — through AOL Instant Messager, or AIM.

Why do employees cheat at work? It turns out, it’s all our boss’ fault. OK, not really, of course. But Mike Baer, assistant professor in the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, believes one factor in workplace cheating is unrealistic expectations.

In Arizona and in some other parts of the country, public schools are underfunded. And there are educators and academics who worry that public schools are failing. In her new book "Cutting School: Privatization, Segregation and the End of Public Education," Noliwe Rooks attempts to answer those and other questions. She is director of American studies at Cornell University.

Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams made another urgent plea Monday to fill empty public safety positions and increase department diversity. KJZZ’s Paige Phelps spoke with Chief Williams this morning, and she said the department is trying to make up for the six years that the department could not hire any people at all.

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Captain Mark Kelly are no strangers to the gun debate in this country. The two formed Americans for Responsible Solutions, a gun-control advocacy group. Today, they're announcing that they’re rebranding their nonprofit “Americans for Responsible Solutions” as just “Giffords.”

According to the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting, 73 schools are appealing the letter grades given to them by state officials. Their reasons for the appeal include incorrect data used to calculate their grade and a flawed system.

In the more general sense, the U.S. has seen an amping up of activism, social movements and protests over the past year — owed in part to strong reactions to statements and tweets by President Trump. And social media has played a significant in attracting more people to protests — both for and against the issue in question.

Let’s talk now about how social media is changing the conversation around normally unspoken issues. Sexual harassment and assault have traditionally been issues that are unspoken — shameful, even, for many women. But this #metoo campaign has flipped that on its head.

The future of the Talking Stick Resort Arena in downtown Phoenix remains uncertain. The City Council had planned to meet in executive session on Wednesday to discuss arena negotiations with the Phoenix Suns, but late Monday we learned that meeting was canceled. KJZZ’s Christina Estes joins me now.

Round four of the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations among the U.S., Mexico and Canada is concluding today. With me to talk about where the agreement — and renegotiations — stand is Pamela Starr, associate professor of International Relations and Diplomacy at USC.

Phoenix police policy does comply with Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070, the immigration enforcement law. That’s the assessment of state Attorney General Mark Brnovich. Brnovich’s investigation was triggered by state Sen. John Kavanagh, using a state law that allows lawmakers to ask the AG to look into whether city ordinances violate state law.

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